BBC Test Match Special stars consider suing over England’s Ashes ban threat
By Saghir Hussain ·
So the BBC’s Test Match Special team might sue over an Ashes ban? That’s the word, and it’s got cricket fans scratching their heads. The TMS lads, the voices of our summer for decades, are apparently considering legal action because of some alternative “watchalong” show. Now, you have to ask: what on earth is the England and Wales Cricket Board so threatened by that they’d consider banning the very people who gave the game its soul?
It feels like a case of the authorities being terrified of their own shadow. Here are the broadcasters who made cricket accessible, who turned a five-day grind into a national pastime, and the response to them doing a bit of fun, fan-friendly coverage is a threat to the rights packages? The real value of those TV deals isn't in a few extra quid from a rival stream; it's in the heritage and the audience. The TMS team is that heritage. This isn't about breaking contracts; it's about the game's heart. It’s the difference between a corporate product and a living tradition.
Meanwhile, the cost of living is biting, and a day at the cricket isn't the cheap day out it once was. If this alternative show offers fans a more engaging, less expensive way to follow the action, isn't that a good thing? It feels like the ECB is prioritising a potential pound sign over the goodwill of the fans and the spirit of the game. They're swinging a big stick at the wrong people.
My question is this: when did cricket become so scared of its own fans?